Throwback to PM Modi checking on weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s back pain

From carrying heavy firewood in her village to thanking the truck drivers who helped her reach training, Mirabai Chanu’s journey is extraordinary.

Transcript

00:00That's weightlifter Mirabai Chang, who would go on to win gold at the Commonwealth weightlifting

00:09championship. This video is from 2024, when PM Modi was passing by a crowd of athletes

00:14standing behind a barricade and stopped to check on her.

00:17The same girl from a small village in Manipur, who carried firewood heavier than her brothers,

00:23who hitched rides with truck drivers just to reach training and years later, after winning

00:27Olympic silver in Tokyo, went back to those truck drivers, touched their feet and said

00:31thank you. Injuries always stayed with her. The worst came in September 2023. At the Asian

00:36Games as she got ready for the clean and jerk, she struggled with her weight belt. On a 117kg

00:41attempt, she got the bar on her shoulders, but her hip gave out. Mirabai fell to the floor

00:46in pain. Staff rushed in and her coach Vijay Sharma carried her backstage. The chance at

00:51a medal was over. For weeks, she couldn't step on a platform. She tried to return in 2024

00:55but finished fourth at the Paris Olympics. That's why this moment is so special. Gold

01:00around her neck, a 193kg total, records and rewritten and of course, securing her spot at the 2026

01:06Commonwealth Games.